Nail selecting and feeding mechanism for nailing apparatus



June 23, 1970 ANDRE El AL NAIL SELECTING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FORNAILING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 20, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet l jieaE/ ef AM0955,

A2904; 3437, A? his/e firmeueys June 23, 1970 H. ANDRE ETAL NAILSELECTING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FOR NAILING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 20,1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 p E 59 fi m w d EAs 4 w A a r 5 m as a: M 9 B a020 A L m s) 3 June 23, 1970 H. ANDRE ETAL 3,515,574

NAIL SELECTING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FOR NAILING APPARATUS Filed NOV.20, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 92 Ja /W4 w w jVi EA/faes Heesefi A M29953Aaau: 5952f v53 77 /6? firms/11 g United States Patent O 3,516,574 NAILSELECTING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FOR NAILING APPARATUS Herbert Andr,Raidwangen, and Adolf Cast, Oberlenningen, Germany, assignors to Karl M.Reich, Maschinenfabrik, Nurtingen, Nurtingen, Germany, a German companyFiled Nov. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 684,450 Int. Cl. 365g 59/00 U.S. Cl.221278 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Thepresent invention relates in general to a pneumatically-operated nailselecting and feeding mechanism for a single-stroke pneumatic nailingapparatus or gun and, more particularly, to a mechanism which willautomatically deliver a nail to the nailing gun after a preceding nailhas been driven.

As background, the invention contemplates a pneumatically-operated nailselecting and feeding mechanism of the type which includes: housingmeans provided therethrough with a nail feeding passage having an outletend connectible to the nailing gun by a flexible nail feeding conduit,and having an inlet end; nail supplying means connected to the inlet endof the nail feeding passage and comprising a clip or magazine containinga series of nails in side-by-side relation; reciprocablepneumatically-operated nail selecting means carried by the housing meansfor selecting nails from the nail supplying means one at a time and fordelivering same to the inlet end of the nail feeding passage seriatim;pneumatically-operated nail feeding means for feeding successive nailsselected by the nail selecting means to the nailing apparatus throughthe nail feeding passage and the flexible nail feeding conduit; the nailfeeding means including gate means movable relative to the nail feedingpassage between an open position, wherein it permits movement of a nailthrough the nail feeding passage, and a closed position, wherein itblocks the nail feeding passage against both downstream nail movementand the upstream escape of compressed air; the nail feeding meansfurther including nail propelling means operable in the closed positionof the gate means for supplying air under pressure to the nail feedingpassage downstream from the gate means to propel a nail through the nailfeeding passage and the flexible nail feeding conduit to the nailingapparatus; feed valve means in the housing means for actuating the nailfeeding means to move the gate means to its closed position and forsupplying air under pressure to the nail propelling means;

3,516,574 Patented June 23 1970 "ice As further background, theinvention contemplates a nail selecting and feeding mechanism whichincorporates various important improvements on the correspondingmechanism disclosed in Pat. No. 2,993,208 granted July 25, 1961, toGustav Walliser and to one of us, Adolf Cast, jointly.

OBJECTS OF INVENTION An important object of the invention is to providea reciprocable pneumatically-operated nail selecting means, forselecting one nail at a time from a magazine holding a series of suchnails in side-by-side relation, which comprises selector and stopelements spaced apart in the direction of and alternately positionedtoblock the series of nails, the selector and stop elements beingsuccessively engageable by each nail in the series as the nail selectingmeans is reciprocated, and the spacing between the selector and stopelements being adjustable to accommodate different nail sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an actuating means for thefeed valve means which includes a feed lever having cam means engageablewith the feed valve means during movement of the nail selecting means inone direction, and having means for pivoting itself into an inoperativeposition during movement of the nail selecting means in the oppositedirection. Related objects are to provide a feed valve means including avalve stem, cam means on the feed lever including an inclined surface ofthe feed lever engageable with an end of the valve stem during movementof the nail selecting means in one direction, and an edge on the feedlever engageable with one side of the valve stem to pivot the feed leverinto its inoperative position during movement of the nail selectingmeans in the opposite direction. This provides a very simple andpositive means for actuating the feed valve means once during eachcomplete cycle of operation of the nail selecting means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a feed valve means whichincludes a tubular feed valve, and to provide an actuating means forunseating the tubular feed valve during movement of the nail selectingmeans in one direction.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide throttle valve meansfor adjusting the flow of air into the nail feeding passage from thenail feeding means. Related objects are to provide the gate means withan air supply passage for supplying air under pressure to the nailfeeding passage downstream from the gate means in the closed positionthereof, to provide the air supply passage with an axial portionextending axially of the gate means, and to provide the throttle valvemeans with a throttle valve extending axially into the axial portion ofthe air supply passage and axially movable relative thereto to adjustthe flow of air into the nail feeding passage.

An additional object of the invention is to provide the inlet of thenail feeding passage with a pivoted door which is adapted to bereleasably latched in a closed position, and which is adapted to beopened to permit easy removal of any nail or nails which may becomejammed in the inlet end of the nail feeding passage.

Yet another object is to provide a nail selecting and feeding mechanismwhich is provided with means for mounting the nail clipor magazinedirectly thereon so that a supply of nails is available right at theselecting and feeding mechanism.

3 and actuating means connected to the nail selecting means foroperating the feed valve means.

A final object is to provide suspension means connected to the nailselecting and feeding mechanism for mounting same on the operators belt.With this construction, the nail selecting and feeding mechanism, andthe magazine connected thereto, are supported by the operators belt,leaving both hands free to manipulate and operate the nailing apparatusor gun itself.

The foregoing objects, advantages, features and results of the presentinvention, together with various other objects, advantages, features andresults thereof which will be evident to those skilled in the nailingart in the light of this disclosure, may be achieved with the exemplaryembodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings anddescribed in detail hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a beltmounted,pneumatically-operated, nail selecting and feeding mechanism of theinvention, complete with a nail magazine, connected to apneumatically-operated nailing apparatus or gun of the single-stroketype;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, front elevational view, partially inverticalsection, of the nail selecting and feeding mechanism of the invention;

FIGS. 3, 4 and are fragmentary sectional views respectively taken alongthe arrowed lines 3-3, 44 and 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the irregular arrowedline 66 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are fragmentary sectional views taken as indicated by thearrowed lines 7-7 and 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 9a and 9b are fragmentary sectional views taken along the arrowedline 99 of FIG. 3 and showing different operating positions for variousparts, FIGS. 9a and 912 also duplicating a portion of the extreme upperend of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the arrowed line 1010of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by thearrowed line 1111 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, but showing various parts indifferent operating positions.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION General descriptionReferring initially to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the numeral designatesgenerally a pneumatic nail selecting and feeding mechanism of theinvention, hereinafter referred to simply as a nail feeder forconvenience, which supplies nails one at a time to a nailing apparatusor gun 22 through a flexible nail feeding conduit 24 interconnectingthem. A nail clip or magazine 26 is mounted directly on the feeder 20and holds a series of nails in sideby-side relation. These nails aretaken from the clip 26 one at a time by the feeder 20 and are deliveredthereby to the gun 22 seriatim through the conduit 24, all as will bedescribed in more detail hereinafter.

The nail feeder 20 is provided with suspension means 28 for mounting it,and the clip 26 carried thereby, on a belt 30 worn by the operator ofthe nailing gun 22. With this construction, which represents animportant feature of the invention, complete freedom of movement for theoperator is achieved while leaving both of his hands free to operate thenailing gun 22. At the same time, the nail feeder 20 and its supply clip26 are right at the operators side, and thus fully accessible for anyattention that may be required, or for replacing the nail clip 26 withanother one when the supply of nails therein is exhausted.

The nail feeder 20 is supplied with air under pressure through aflexible air supply line 32 and the gun 22 is supplied with compressedair through another flexible air 4 supply line 34. As will be describedhereinafter, the air supply line 34 for the gun 22 is connected to theair supply line 32 for the feeder 20 by a passage through the housing orhousing means of the feeder. An air return line 36 interconnects the gun22 and the feeder 20 and serves to provide an air pressure signalindicating completion of one nail driving operation and demandinganother nail from the feeder.

For conciseness, this specification will be restricted to a detaileddescription of the nail feeder 20 and to a general description of itsrelationships to the gun 22, the clip 26 and the belt 30. Theseperipheral elements form no part of the present invention and can haveany suitable construction. The nailing gun 22, for example, may besimilar to that disclosed in detail in the aforementioned Pat. No.2,993,208. The clip or magazine 26 may also be of any constructionsuitable to supply a series of nails to the feeder 20 in side-by-siderelation. Preferably, the clip 26 is adapted to be loaded with nailsavailable in bulk by a suitable loading apparatus, since bulk nails aremuch cheaper than nails especially processed for the purpose.Additionally, the description of the nail feeder 20 will be limitedprimarily to differences between it and the nail feeder of theaforementioned Pat. No. 2,993,208 since it is basically quite similarthereto. Consequently, if further descriptions are desired, attention isdirected to said patent, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference the same as if it were fully set forthherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring initially to FIG. 6 of the drawings, thenail feeder 20 includes a housing or housing means provided therethroughwith a nail feeding passage designated generally by the numeral 40. Thenail feeding passage 40 is generally vertical in the normal operatingposition of the nail feeder 20, and has a lower, outlet end connected tothe nailing gun 22 by the flexible nail feeding conduit 24. To connectthe flexible conduit 24 to the feeder 20, the conduit is provided with aflared end clamped between a fitting 42 and a tubular nut 44 threadedthereinto. The fitting 42 is telescoped into a depending skirt 46 on thefeeder 20 in alignment with the passage 40, and is releasably retainedin such skirt by a pivoted latch 48, FIGS. 6 and 10, insertable into achordal slot 50 in the skirt beneath an annular shoulder on the fitting.With this construction, the nail feeding conduit 24 can be connected toand disconnected from the nail feeder 20 easily.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the upper, inlet end 52 of the nailfeeding passage 40 is somewhat funnel shaped and is provided with anopen side 54 to admit seriatim nails the heads of which rest on twospaced, parallel rails 56, best shown in FIG. 3. In the normal operatingposition of the nail feeder 20, the rails 56 are inclined downwardlytoward the open side 54 of the inlet end 52 of the nail feeding passage40, whereby the nails migrate toward the inlet end of the nail feedingpassage by gravity as successive nails are taken from the rails in amanner to be described hereinafter.

The nail clip 26 may be connected to the nail feeder 20, in registerwith the nail-supporting rails 56, in any suitable manner, it beingnoted that the nail clip is inclined downwardly toward thenail-supporting rails 56 so that, as successive nails are fed to thenailing gun 22, the heads of additional nails move downwardly from theclip 26 onto the rails 56 one at a time.

The inlet end 52 of the nail feeding passage 40 is provided on one sidethereof with a door 58' mounted on a hinge 60 and normally held closedby a spring latch 62 engageable with a handle 64 thereon. With thisconstruction, if a nail or nails jam in the inlet end 52 of the nailfeeding passage 40 for any reason, they may readily be removed simply bydepressing the spring latch 62 and opening the door 58, which is animportant feature of the invention. The jam eliminated, it is merelynecessary to close the door 58, whereupon it is autonatically held inits closed position by the spring latch 62.

Successive nails supported by the rails 56 are dropped into the inletend 52 of the nail feeding passage 40 seriatim by apneumatically-operated reciprocable nail selecting means 66. As bestshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the nail se lecting means 66 is carried by ahollow piston 68 reciprocable in and projecting from a bore 70 in thehousing of the nail feeder 20. The piston 68 is held in the bore 70 by apin 72 spanning the bore and extending through a longitudinal slot 74 inthe piston. The piston 68 is biased toward the inner end of the bore 70by a compression spring 76 within and seated against the inner end ofbore 69 of the piston, and also seated against a spring seat 78 abuttingthe pin 72.

The air return line 36 is connected to a fitting 80 threaded into a port82 communicating with the inner end of the bore 70. Thus, whenever thenailing gun 22 has completed a preceding nail-driving operation, usuallyas the result of a single stroke of the gun, air under pressure ismomentarily delivered to the inner end of the bore 70 to move the piston68 outwardly of its bore, the piston being returned by the compressionspring 76. This pneumatically-induced reciprocatory stroke of the piston68 results in actuation of the nail selecting means 66 to take a nailfrom the rails 56 and drop it into the nail feeding passage 40.

The nail selecting means 66 is mounted on the projecting portion of thepiston 68 and includes selector and stop elements 90 and 92 spaced apartin the direction of and alternately positioned to block the series ofnails carried by the rails 56, the selector and stop elements beingsuccessively engageable by each nail in the series as the nail selectingmeans is reciprocated. More particularly, the selector element 90engages the end nail in and blocks the series of nails when the piston68 is in its inner, retracted position, this condition being shown inFIGS. 3, 6 and 9b of the drawings. On the other hand, when the piston 68is in its outer, extended position, the selector element 90* iswithdrawn from engagement with the end nail of the series and the stopelement 92 is moved into blocking position relative to the series ofnails, this condition being shown in FIG. 9a of the drawlIlgS.

Thus, as the nail selecting means 66 is reciprooated it acts as anescapement mechanism to drop one nail at a time into the inlet end 52 ofthe nail feeding passage 40. More particularly, as the piston 68 ismoved into its extended position, the selector element 90 disengages theseries of nails to permit the end nail in the series to move downwardlyagainst the stop element 92, as shown in FIG. 9a. When the piston 68 issubsequently returned to its retracted position, the selector element 90engages and blocks the next nail in the series, while the stop element92 moves out of engagement with the end nail in the series to permit itto drop into the nail feeding passage 40, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9b.

The stop element 92 is rigidly mounted on the projecting outer end ofthe piston 68 while the selector element 90 is mounted thereon formovement toward and away from the stop element 92 in the direction ofthe series of nails supported by the rails 56. The purpose of varyingthe spacing between the selector and stop elements 90 and 92 in thisfashion is to accommodate nails of different sizes, it being apparentthat nails having smaller-diameter heads will be spaced closer togetherthan nails having larger-diameter heads, and thus will require a closerspacing of the selector and stop elements 90 and 92.

Considering the manner in which the position of the selector element 90is adjusted relative to the stop element 92, the selector element isprovided with an arm 94 which spans the open end of the bore 69 andwhich is provided with guide slots 96, FIGS. 3 and 4, receiving prongs98 on the piston at the outer end of the bore 69. The guide slots 96 areoriented in the desired direction of movement of the selector elementrelative to the stop element 92. Rotatable within the outer end of thebore 69 is a plunger-like member carrying eccentrically thereof anenlarged shank 192 of a bolt 104. The eccentric bolt shank 102 extendsthrough a slot 106, FIG. 4, formed in the arm 94 of the selector element90 and extending perpendicularly of the guide slots 96. Fastened ontothe outer end of the bolt 104 is a suitable knob 108. As will beapparent, by rotating the knob 108, the eccentric shank 102 of the bolt104 is caused to move the selector element 90 toward and away from thestop element 92 as required to achieve the spacing necessary for aparticular nail size. Friction maintains the desired spacing of theselector and stop elements 90 and 92.

The nail feeder 20 includes pneumatically-operated nail feeding meansfor feeding successive nails selected by the nail selecting means 66 tothe nailing gun 22 through the flexible nail feeding conduit 24. As bestshown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the nail feeding means 110 includes acylindrical gate or gate means 112 reciprocable in a bore 114 between anopen position, shown in solid lines, wherein it permits movement of anail downwardly through the nail feeding passage 40 under the influenceof gravity, and a closed position, shown in broken lines, wherein itengages a seat 116 to block the nail feeding passage against bothdownstream nail movement and the upstream escape of compressed air.

The gate 112 is provided at the end thereof remote from the 'nailfeeding passage 40 with an annular piston 118 to which air pressure isapplied, in a manner to be described, to close the gate, the annularpiston being reciprocable in a counterbore 119 in the feeder housing. Acompression coil spring 120, seated at one end against the annularpiston 118 and at its other end against the housing of the nail feeder20 at the inner end of the counterbore 119, biases the gate 112 towardits open position. Rotation of the gate 112 about its axis is preventedby a key 122 thereon reciprocable in a keyway 124 in the feeder housing.

As previously indicated, the housing of the nail feeder 20 is providedtherethrough with a passage interconnecting the air supply lines 32 and34, this passage being designated by the numeral 126 in FIGS. 6 and 11.A feed valve means 128, operated by the nail selecting means 66 throughan actuating means 130 to be described hereinafter, is adapted to permitthe flow of compressed air from the passage 126 into a bore 132connected to the counterbore 119 by a port 134. Thus, upon opening ofthe feed valve means 128 by the actuating means 130 during eachoperating cycle of the nail selecting means 66, compressed air acts onthe annular piston 118 to close the gate 112 momentarily.

Additionally, the feed valve means 128 admits compressed air to an airsupply passage 136 through the gate 112. The air supply passage 136 hasan axial portion 138 one end of which is encircled by the annular piston118. The other end of the axial portion 138 communicates with a lateralportion 140 which registers with the downstream portion of the nailfeeding passage 40 when the gate 112 is closed.

Consequently, opening of the feed valve means 128 not only results inthe application of air pressure to the annular piston 118 to close thegate 112, but also results in the delivery of compressed air, throughthe air supply passage 136, to the nail feeding passage 40 downstreamfrom the gate 112. Thus, there is provided a nail propelling means,operable in the closed position of the gate 112, for supplying air underpressure to the nail feeding passage 40, downstream from the gate, topropel a nail through the nail feeding passage, and the flexible nailfeeding conduit 24, to the nailing gun 22.

A throttle valve means 142 controls the flow of compressed air into thenail feeding passage 40 when the gate 112 is closed. As best shown inFIG. 6 of the drawings, the throttle valve means 142 comprises athrottle valve 144, preferably a needle valve, threaded through aclosure 146 for the counterbore 119, and extending axially into theaxial portion 138 of the air supply passage 136. The throttle valve 144is provided externally With a knob 148 by means of which it may berotated to vary its axial extension into the axial portion 138 of theair supply passage 136 when the gate 112 is in its closed position. Aswill be apparent, this regulates the rate of compressed air flow intothe nail feeding passage 40, and thus regulates the speed of nailpropulsion to the nailing gun 22. Further, the structure disclosedachieves this in a simple and straightforward manner.

Turning now to a more detailed consideration of the feed valve means128, and its actuating means 130, the former, best shown in FIGS. 6 and7, comprises a tubular feed valve, or, more accurately, a cup-shapedfeed valve, 150 reciprocable in the bore 132 and having its closed endbiased against a seat 152 by a compression coil spring 154. The closedend of the feed valve 150 is provided with circumferentially spacedports 156 through which compressed air may flow from the passage 126upon unseating of the feed valve. Such compressed air, as previouslyexplained, then closes the gate 112 and propels a nail through the nailfeeding conduit 24 to the nailing gun 22.

The closed, ported end of the feed valve 150 is generally conical andits apex engages a valve actuating stem or pin 158 reciprocable in abore 160 in the housing of the nail feeder 20. The actuating means 130for the feed valve means :128 is engageable with the valve stem 158 anddepresses it, as viewed in FIG. 6, once during each operating cycle ofthe nail selecting means 66, thereby unseating the feed valve 150.

Considering the actuating means 130 in more detail, it comprises, asbest shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 8, a feed lever 162 extending generally inthe direction of movement of the nail selecting piston 68. One end ofthe feed lever 162 is pivotally connected to the projecting portion ofthe piston 68 by a pivot pin 164, the latter being encircled by arattrap spring 166 which biases the feed lever toward the valve stem158.

As best shown in FIG. 8, the feed lever 162 is provided in one edgethereof with a notch 168 which receives the valve stem 158 when the nailselecting piston 68 is in its retracted position. Upon movement of thenail selecting piston 68 to its extended position, the edge of the notch168 engages the side of the valve stem 158 to pivot the feed lever 162to one side in opposition to the action of the rattrap spring 166. Thus,as the nail selecting piston 68 is moved to its extended position, thefeed lever 162 simply pivots to one side and does not cause the valvestem 158 to unseat the tubular feed valve 150. However, during returnmovement of the nail selecting piston 68 to its retracted position, aninclined surface 170 of the feed lever 162 acts as a cam means todepress the valve stem v158 momentarily, until the valve stem canre-enter the notch 168.

Summarizing the operation of the nail feeder 20, the feed valve means128 is actuated momentarily during the return stroke of the nailselecting means 66, as described in the preceding paragraph. Suchmomentary actuation of the feed valve means 128 results in the deliveryof compressed air to the nail feeding means 110, after a nail releasedby the nail selecting means 66 has fallen through the nail feedingpassage 40 to a point below the gate 112. The compressed air delivery tothe nail feeding means 110 results first in closure of the gate 112, andthen in delivery of an air blast to the nail feeding passage 40,downstream from the gate 112, to propel the nail through the conduit 24to the nailing gun 22. After such nail has been driven, the nailing gundemands another nail by delivering air under pressure to the nailselecting means 66, whereupon the foregoing cycle is repeated.

Turning to a consideration of the suspension means 28 for mounting thenail feeder 20 on the belt 30, the

latter has hooked thereover and suitably secured thereto a clip 172which carries a hip pad 174. Suitably secured to the clip 172 is a clampjaw 176 having another clamp jaw 178 pivotally connected thereto at 180.Two vertically spaced pins 182 and 184 carried by the inner clamp jaw 176 extend outwardly through openings in the outer clamp jaw 178. A wingnut 186 threaded on the upper pin 182 secures the two jaws 176 and 178together.

The nail feeder 20 is suitably secured to a support 190 which terminatesin a plate 192 insertable between the two clamp jaws 176 and 178, theplate 192 having a slot 194 therein which is adapted to receive the twopins 182 and 184 therein, as shown in FIG. 11. Alternatively, the pin182 may be disposed in the slot 194, with the pin 184 engaging an edgeof the plate 192, as shown in FIG. 12. In either case, the plate 192 isclamped between the jaws 176 and 178 to secure the nail feeder 20 to thebelt 30.

The slot 194 in the supporting plate 192 is parallel to the nail feedingpassage 40. Consequently, when the supporting plate 192 is in theposition shown in FIG. 11 and when the operator is standing so that thebelt 30 is horizontal, the nail feeding passage 40 is in the desiredvertical position. The FIG. 12 position is used whenever the operatorstorso will be inclined forwardly so that the belt 30 will be inclineddownwardly and forwardly (downwardly and to the right as viewed in FIG.12). Under such conditions, the slot 194 in the supporting plate 192will be generally vertical, thereby orienting the nail feeding passage40 generally vertically.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed indetail herein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood thatvarious changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated insuch embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claims appearing in the next section of thisspecification.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a nail selecting mechanism for a nailing apparatus, thecombination of:

(a) housing means provided therethrough with a nail feeding passagehaving an outlet end connectible to the nailing apparatus and having aninlet end;

(b) nail supplying means connected to said inlet end of said nailfeeding passage for holding a series of nails in side-by-side relation;

(c) reciprocable nail selecting means carried by said housing means forselecting nails from said nail supplying means and delivering same tosaid inlet end of said nail feeding passage seriatim;

(d) said nail selecting means including selector and stop elementsspaced apart in the direction of and alternately positioned to blocksaid series of nails, and successively engageable by each nail in saidseries, as said nail selecting means is reciprocated; and

(e) adjusting means for varying the spacing between said selector andstop elements in the direction of said series of nails, said adjustingmeans comprising eccentric means engaging said selector element formoving same toward and away from said stop element.

2. A nail selecting and feeding mechanism for a nailing apparatus,including a nail selecting mechanism as defined in claim 1, and furtherincluding:

(a) nail feeding means in said housing means and including gate meansmovable relative to said nail feeding passage between an open position,wherein it permits movement of a nail through said nail feeding passage,and a closed position;

(b) said nail feeding means further including nail propelling meansoperable in said closed position of said gate means for supplying airunder pressure to said nail feeding passage downstream from said gatemeans to propel a nail through said nail feeding passage to said outletend thereof and thence to the nailing apparatus when connected to saidoutlet end of said nail feeding passage;

(c) first pneumatic means in said housing means for reciprocating saidnail selecting means;

(d) second pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailfeeding means to move said gate means to said closed position;

(e) feed valve means in said housing means for actuating said secondpneumatic means and for supplying air under pressure to said nailpropelling means; and

(f) actuating means connected to said nail selecting means for operatingsaid feed valve means.

3. In a nail selecting and feeding mechanism for a nailing apparatus,the combination of:

(a) housing means provided therethrough with a nail feeding passagehaving an outlet end connectible to the nailing apparatus and having aninlet end;

(b) nail supplying means connected to said inlet end of said nailfeeding passage;

() reciprocable nail selecting means carried by said housing means forselecting nails from said nail supplying means and delivering same tosaid inlet end of said nail feeding passage seriatim;

(d) nail feeding means in said housing means and including gate meansmovable relative to said nail feeding passage between an open position,wherein it permits movement of a nail through said nail feeding passage,and a closed position;

(e) said nail feeding means further including nail propelling meansoperable in said closed position of said gate means for supplying airunder pressure to said nail feeding passage downstream from said gatemeans to propel a nail through said nail feeding passage to said outletend thereof and thence to the nailing apparatus when connected to saidoutlet end of said nail feeding passage;

(f) first pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailselecting means;

(g) second pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailfeeding means to move said gate means to said closed position;

(h) feed valve means in said housing means for actuating said secondpneumatic means and for supplying air under pressure to said nailpropelling means;

(i) actuating means connected to said nail selecting means for operatingsaid feed valve means during movement of said nail selecting means inone direction;

(1 said actuating means including a feed lever having cam meansengageable with said feed valve means during movement of said nailselecting means in said one direction; and

(k) said feed lever being pivotally connected to said nail selectingmeans for pivotal movement into an inoperative position during movementof said nail selecting means in the opposite direction.

4. A nail selecting and feeding mechanism as set forth in claim 3wherein:

(a) said feed valve means includes a valve stem;

(b) said cam means on said feed lever includes an inclined surface ofsaid feed lever engageable with an end of said valve stem; and

(c) said feed lever is provided with an edge engageable with one side ofsaid valve stem to pivot said feed lever into its inoperative positionduring movement of said nail selecting means in said opposite direction.

'5. In a nail selecting and feeding mechanism for a nailing apparatus,the combination of:

(a) housing means provided therethrough with a nail feeding passagehaving an outlet end connectible to the nailing apparatus and having aninlet end;

b) nail supplying means connected to said inlet end of said nail feedingpassage;

(c) nail selecting means carried by said housing means for selectingnails from said nail supplying means and delivering same to said inletend of said nail feeding passage seriatim;

(d) nail feeding means in said housing means and including gate meansmovable relative to said nail feeding passage between an open position,wherein it permits movement of a nail through said nail feeding passage,and a closed position;

(e) said nail feeding means further including nail propelling meansoperable in said closed position of said gate means for supplying airunder pressure to said nail feeding passage downstream from said gatemeans to propel a nail through said nail feeding passage to said outletend thereof and thence to the nailing apparatus when connected to saidoutlet end of said nail feeding passage;

(f) first pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailselecting means;

(g) second pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailfeeding means to move said gate means to said closed position;

(h) feed valve means in said housing means for actuating said secondpnuematic means and for supplying air under pressure to said nailpropelling means;

'(i) said feed valve means including a generally conical feed valve seatand including a cup-shaped feed valve having a ported, generally conicalend engageable with said valve seat; and

'(j) actuating means connected to said nail selecting means andengageable with said generally conical end of said feed valve forunseating said feed valve.

6. In a nail selecting and feeding mechanism for a nailing apparatus,the combination of:

-(a) housing means provided therethrough with a nail feeding passagehaving an outlet end connectible to the nailing apparatus and having aninlet end;

(-b) nail supplying means connected to said inlet end of said nailfeeding passage;

(0) nail selecting means carried by said housing means for selectingnails from said nail supplying means and delivering same to said inletend of said nail feeding passage seriatim;

(d) nail feeding means in said housing means and including gate meansmovable relative to said nail feeding passage between an open position,wherein it permits movement of a nail through said nail feeding passage,and a closed position;

(e) said nail feeding means further including nail propelling meansoperable in said closed position of said gate means for supplying airunder pressure to said nail feeding passage downstream from said gatemeans to propel a nail through said nail feeding passage to said outletend thereof and thence to the nailing apparatus when connected to saidoutlet end of said nail feeding passage;

(f) first pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailselecting means;

(g) second pneumatic means in said housing means for operating said nailfeeding means to move said gate means to said closed position;

(b) feed valve means in said housing means for actuating said secondpneumatic means and for supplying air under pressure to said nailpropelling means;

(i) actuating means connected to said nail selecting means for operatingsaid feed valve means;

(j) throttle valve means for adjusting the flow of air into said nailfeeding passage;

(k) said gate means being provided with an air supply passagetherethrough for supplying air under pressure to said nail feedingpassage downstream from said gate means in said closed position of saidgate means;

(1) said air supply passage having an axial portion extending axially ofsaid gate means; and

1 1 (m) said throttle means comprising a throttle valve extendingaxially into said axial portion of said air supply passage and axiallymovable relative thereto to adjust the fioW of air into said nailfeeding passage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12 2,928,095 3/1960 'SoWer227-116 3,215,324 11/1965 Dorney 227-423 3,273,777 9/1966 Iuilfs et a1227-123 3,275,191 9/1966 MacDonald 221278 X 3,305,155 2/1967 Willis227-112 X 3,339,799 9/1967 Spisak 221278 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, PrimaryExaminer UNITED STATES PKTENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3,516,574 July 25, 1970 Herbert Andre et al.

It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 66, insert "and actuating means connected to the nailselecting means for operating the feed valve means". Column 3, lines Iand 2, cancel "and actuating means connected to the nail selecting meansfor operating the feed valve means"; line 26, "invertical" should readin vertical Column 6, line 4, "'192" should read 102 Column 11, line 1,after "throttle" insert valve Signed and sealed this 19th day of January1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

